Andrew Carnegie

Hello! My name is Andrew Carnegie. I was born a long, long time ago, on November 25th, 1835, in a little cottage in a country called Scotland. My family didn't have a lot of money, but we had a lot of love. When I was a boy, we decided to go on a big adventure. We sailed on a huge ship across the ocean to a new home in America!

In America, I wanted to help my family. Even though I was young, I got my first job in 1848. I worked in a big, noisy factory. Later, I got a job sending important messages called telegrams. I worked very, very hard and learned all about making something super strong called steel. Steel is a special metal used to build tall skyscrapers and long bridges. I started my own steel company in 1892, and it grew to be very big.

Working hard made me one of the richest people in the world. But I remembered what it was like to not have much. I believed that if you have a lot, you should share it to help others. My favorite thing to do was build libraries. I loved books! I wanted every child and grown-up to have a free, wonderful place to read and learn. I helped build thousands of libraries all around the world.

I lived to be 83 years old. People still remember me today when they visit one of the many libraries, schools, or music halls I helped build. I hoped to give everyone a chance to learn, and I am happy my gifts are still helping people do that.